Every spring, prospective McGill students begin to receive their offers of admission. These students will have among the highest grades of their graduating class: The mean grade 12 academic average for an accepted non-Quebec Canadian student was 93.7 per cent in fall 2017. However, McGill’s extremely competitive admissions cutoffs make[Read More…]
Editorial
Overworked and underpaid: Executive dysfunction in student government
On Feb. 25, Cody Esterle, Student’s Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President VP) Student Life announced that they would be taking time off for an indefinite period due to immense emotional and physical burnout. Similarly, VP External Marina Cupido resigned in Sept. 2018 citing mental health concerns while in office.[Read More…]
Revised sexual violence policy needs more revision
After missing the Quebec government’s Jan. 1 deadline to update their existing sexual violence policy, McGill’s Senate has entered the final stages of approving its newly-revised Policy Against Sexual Violence (SVP), presenting the document at their Feb. 20 meeting. Last amended in 2016, Senate is updating the policy so that it[Read More…]
Don’t overturn a democratic vote for undemocratic reasons
In an ambiguous and poorly-worded email sent on Feb. 12, Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) executives released a statement announcing that they had overturned the AUS Legislative Council’s decision to withhold approval of the course fee for POLI 339. POLI 339 Comparative Developed: Topics 1 is a two-week summer exchange course[Read More…]
Learning from the successes and failures of AVEQ
Following years of apathy and disengagement, the announcement that the Association for the Voice for Education in Quebec (AVEQ), a provincial student union, had dissolved generated little attention on McGill’s campus. While students are passionate advocates for causes like greater access to mental health services at McGill and the upcoming[Read More…]
In solidarity with Unist’ot’en
Since November 2018, indigenous communities and their allies across Canada have mobilized to show solidarity with the Unist’ot’en camp. The community is part of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation in British Columbia (BC) and has been trying to prevent a natural gas pipeline, Coastal GasLink, from building on their territory. On[Read More…]
Students can’t afford Doug Ford
On Jan. 17, the Ontario government announced multiple financial changes for university students, including the cutting of the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). For many students, this means that they might not be pursue or complete a degree, as financial changes will be applied this September. The cost of cutting[Read More…]
Keeping Montreal’s transportation on track to accessibility
Many commuters, including students, rely on infrastructure like public transit, sidewalks, and bike lanes to get around the city. But, sometimes, infrastructure fails: On Jan. 9, three out of four metro lines were closed due to a pepper-spray incident, and, on Jan. 17, the blue line closed due to an[Read More…]
Endless working groups with weak mandates delay progress
For the McGill Redmen, a new year might mean a new name. The Working Group on Commemoration and Renaming released its final report on Dec. 7, closing out a year-long series of consultations with campus stakeholders including students, alumni, community leaders, and indigenous groups. Created in Dec. 2017 at the[Read More…]
PGSS executive midterm reviews
Helena Zakrzewski, Secretary-General Zakrzewski ran on a platform of improving mental health services for graduate students, increasing support for international students, and re-engaging society members. Over the past semester, she has overseen and supported the initiatives of other PGSS councillors while undertaking an extensive evaluation of PGSS governance bodies. Zakrzewski[Read More…]
